Supported Phones

The GearVR is a headset that works exclusively with Samsung’s latest flagship phones, starting with the Galaxy S6 all the way up to the S7 Edge.

While this is an pretty exclusive set of phones, the exclusivity allowed Samsung to work with Oculus to heavily optimize their GearVR SDK at a hardware level to provide higher quality VR experiences.

Higher Quality

Now, you might be asking what does higher quality mean?

For starter’s, the GearVR provides more than just a trigger for input. You get a touchpad, a back button, and volume control, which are all accessible via the headset.

Additionally, the headset has a higher quality IMU and a low persistence display. You are even allowed to use slightly more complex meshes and lighting in your VR scenes. This can make a world of difference in how your scenes look and feel.

Content Choice

Ergonomically however, the GearVR is annoying for users to keep tapping at their head to interact with the virtual world.

As a result, many developers have chosen to make experiences using external input like a gamepad or make the experiences more passive. Because of this, one of the more popular content choices on the GearVR is 360 media, which offers a more passive but immersive viewing experience. 360 media is a growing field and a lot of research is being done into what makes exciting compelling content.

If you are interested in learning more about it, we are offering a media concentration that dives deep into the intricacies of Storytelling with 360 video. While you can watch 360 video on Cardboard, the GearVR offers a larger field of view to allow you to see more of the content at a higher resolution. The GearVR also lets you take some pretty great pictures like this.